Russell Howard confirms he’s quit TV – will only do stand-up and podcasts

Russell Howard has confirmed that he is no longer working in TV and is only doing stand-up and podcasts from now on.

Howard became especially well-known for fronting Russell Howard’s Good News between 2009 and 2015 on the BBC. He later expanded the show to an hour-long format for the Sky show The Russell Howard Hour, which aired between 2018 and 2022. He also presented a spin-off, Russell Howard’s Home Time, over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the comic has confirmed he is now just focusing on stand up and his two podcasts, Five Brilliant Things and GoalLess.

“I don’t do TV anymore, I just do stand-up and my podcast. I had a pretty good run but I just prefer doing stand-up,” Howard said on the Have A Word podcast

I was all over the world and it was just fun. TV is fun but it’s not as fun [as stand-up]. “Writing a book I couldn’t do because I don’t want to sit and entertain myself but doing stand-up is what I love doing. It’s not entertainment for committee, it’s your dictatorship. The audience are like this brilliant jury that let you know through laughter whether it works or not.”

Howard’s new stand-up special Live at the London Palladium will be released to stream on January 15 via the Driift platform.

The new hour-long special was recorded during Howard’s fourth international tour last year and saw him perform 13 dates alone at the iconic London venue.

Howard’s last TV appearance was on August last year during an appearance on Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz on Telly.

He remarked in an interview with The Telegraph that podcasts were easier to make than TV. “You can make better stuff and don’t have to wait for someone to tell you you’re allowed to do it. It’s kind of punk rock, setting up a podcast. You basically put out your own album,” he said.

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